Bringing the Refugee Crisis Home

Bringing the Refugee Crisis Home:

Understanding the Crisis and Updates on Litigation Efforts

Sam Witten will discuss the roles played by the United States, other countries and the international community in providing relief to refugees worldwide. He will address the issues including,

Who is eligible to be considered a refugee

How refugees are identified for possible resettlement in the US

General challenges in international refugee relief

Sam’s Work at the State Department ~ Sam will speak about his work at the State Department in the Bush and Obama Administrations in helping to implement the U.S. response to the Iraqi refugee crisis and how federal agencies and international bodies are involved in the effort.

Litigation against the Executive Order ~He will also provide an update on litigation against the Trump Administration’s March 6th Executive Order that temporarily suspends the entire U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and institutes travel bans against 6 majority Muslim countries.

Sam served in the US Department of State for 22 years in positions including Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration; Deputy Legal Advisor; Acting Director of the Office of War Crimes Issues and Assistant Legal Advisor for Law Enforcement and Intelligence. He is currently in private legal practice and is co-counsel for several Iranian-American groups suing the Trump Administration over the March 6th travel ban.